Reports Link Getaway Car To Dealership

A white convertible that may have been used as a getaway car by a killer clown has been linked to the victim`s husband`s auto dealership, Palm Beach County sheriff`s reports say.

Detectives found the car, a white Chrysler LeBaron, in a grocery store parking lot at Okeechobee and Royal Palm Beach boulevards on Wednesday.

They think it was the same car that was last seen speeding away from the Aero Club development in Wellington last Saturday morning. Inside was a person dressed as a clown who had opened fire on Marlene Warren, hitting her in the face.

Warren, 40, died on Monday.

Her attacker was wearing a bright orange wig, red bulb nose and white gloves and was carrying a bouquet of flowers and two balloons -- one with the saying ``You`re the greatest!`` stenciled on it.

Shortly after investigators found the Chrysler LeBaron, they learned it had been reported stolen in April from Payless Car Rental in West Palm Beach.

Elissa and Vincent Restivo of West Palm Beach told sheriff`s deputies they rented the car and tried to return it on April 14, but found Payless closed.

They looked in the telephone book for a number to call, and mistakenly called A Bargain Auto Rentals, a company that belongs to Michael Warren, Marlene Warren`s husband.

Advertisements in the yellow pages for A Bargain Auto Rentals had the word ``Payless`` in large print at the top and used the Payless slogan ``Our name says it all,`` reports said.

Someone who answered the phone at Warren`s company told the Restivos they had reached Payless and told them to bring the car to the business at 500 S. Congress Ave., in West Palm Beach.

He told them to leave the car outside the locked gate, with the keys under the sun visor, and he would retrieve it, reports show.

The Restivos felt unsure about the instructions, but complied. They later called back and spoke to a man they recognized from the prior conversation. They told him where they left the car, but he said he did not know what they were talking about, reports said.

They drove back to the spot where they left the car, and it was gone.

The next day, Elissa Restivo called Payless officials, who contacted sheriff`s deputies and reported the car stolen.

When the LeBaron was seen leaving Warren`s home after the killing, it had no license tag, reports show. When it was found, however, it had a tag that was registered to a different LeBaron.

The tag had been taken from a rental car and placed on the getaway car, reports show.